The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-21
OF INTEREST TO WOMEN.
Picturesque Costumes for Girls Who Practice
Archery-Diversions of Literery Clubs.
What Is Going on Now.

What Is Going on Now.
| Special to the Indianapolis Journal
NEW YORK Aug 20-Whether it be in ac-
cordance with that natural law which governs
the revolution of fashions in their orbits. bring
ing each into favor at fairly regular intervals.
whether it be that the new out-of door life OF
| women demands a progressive increase in the
| number of out-of-door games. certain it is that
| the bow and arrow are feeling the impulse of a
| decided boom. Tennis has held its own through
| the summer. few ladies' cricket clubs have
struggled into existence, croouet, after years OF
neglect. has taken heart of grace, but archery,
unless the signs of the times very dec ,ptive.
will be well up in the for favor in the brac-
| ing days of the fall Archery clubs are begin
| ming to form at the summer resorts. Half q
dozen have held their initial meetings within .
| few weeks past in the summer villages sprinkled
| through the Catskills The stay at home folks
| set up targets cool afternoons in the parks,
| and when the city begins to fill up again in
| September the racquet and the bow will join
| issue with each other.
| There is great deal to be said for archery as
game for men or women either. To plant an
arrow In the gold requires more skill than goes
to make champion tennis-player, and yet the
actual outlay Of strength called for IS not so
great but that the sexes compete with each other
on practically equal terms The archery en-
thusast has much to say of the developing in
fuence of bow and arrow practice on the system
and the steady increase in the muscular power
of the back and arms. That it trains the eye
needs hardly to be said.
Girls like target practice as matter of course,
because of the chances for picturesque costum-
ing which it offers. Tennis clubs may dress
as they like, but archers above all
,; L. i
and wear the hunters green. A newly
organized club of ten or a dozen Gig hteen-year-
olds has adopted its uniform white-serge short
gown, with blouse waist, full skirt. green sash
and culver and green ribbons the white hat.
second club, with eye to the practical as
we'll as the pretty, has been shooting for two or
three weeks past i'll silver gray gowns with
round sleeveless jackets of green. dainty in
dividual costume just finished by a city modEte
is of white null, with sprays Of green leaves en-
broidered on the wide hem and green ribbon
bows catching up the drapery here and there.
Better adapted to service is fawn- colored cloth
gown, with green shoulder knot and sash. The
club device is en- brodered some where about rne
costume, and the club pin, if it has adopted one,
fastens the sash. Men seldom full club
suit. but content themselves with plain dark
green coats bearing the clue insignia and shoot
ing hats.
these: Get good bow, no matter if it costs
more at the outset, and do not waste your
strength trying to handle that is too heavy.
1 have seen a delicate girl plant six arrows in
the gold in succession using bow Of seventy
pounds carrying force. But the standard for
man Is only fifty four pounds and a woman who
is not expert with the instrument. and who
has not used herself to shooting every day, will
do better to begin with about thirty pounds force
and advance from that only as she finds that her
skill and strength warrant A necessary pre-
llminary. without which woman ought to ven
ture to call herself archer is to learn to string
her own bow, holding it with the left hand with
the bottom end against the inside of the left foot
and bending it gradually till the string will slip
into the mock. The nicetes of target practice
can be learned only by experience, but the road
to knowledge is pleasant and the archer
travels it without urging